Stages of Financial Advice

1. Establishing the relationship

We’ll conduct an initial discussion for you to talk about your objectives and the type of service you require and for us to confirm whether we are able to help you. We will also confirm how our fees work and when these are paid. There is of course no charge for the initial discussion itself. If we decide to work together, you will need to complete our client agreement along with a questionnaire which will provide us with basic details regarding your circumstances and help us to accurately assess your attitude to risk.

2. Gathering data and determining your goals and expectations

It is important that we fully understand your current financial position, personal circumstances, your experience as an investor and your attitude to investment risk so that we are able to advise you accordingly. We will also need to consider your tax position and any existing investments and policies which you may have. Most importantly, we will build on your objectives to determine exactly what you wish to achieve and by when so that we can tailor our advice specifically to your needs.

3. Research, analysis and preparation of your financial plan

Once we have gathered full details of your current position and existing investments and policies, we will analyse the information provided in conjunction with your objectives to establish an appropriate financial plan. We will prepare an outline plan which will confirm our understanding of your goals and objectives and will state the actions to be taken and how these will enable your objectives to be achieved. At this point we will consider a suitable asset allocation and suitable investment service as well as choice of suitable tax wrappers where appropriate. We will then present your plan to you and agree on a timescale for implementation.

4. Product selection and implementation

Once we have agreed what action is to be taken, we will research and recommend the specific products and investments which we feel are best suited to meeting the objectives set out in your plan.

We will then arrange all of the necessary paperwork required to implement your plan in a timely and accurate manner.

5. Ongoing services and reviews

Stages of Financial Advice, Over time your circumstances and the financial environment will change and therefore it may be necessary to modify your plan and rebalance any investment strategy from time to time. How we deal with this will depend on the type of ongoing service which you wish to receive from us, whether that be a fully holistic wealth management relationship or if you just want ad-hoc advice when it suits you.

Protect Yourself

Financial services firms can only operate in the UK if they are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or registered to do so, or are otherwise exempt.
Unfortunately, there are firms in the UK and abroad that operate without FCA authorisation, and some knowingly run scams.
You can check if a firm is authorised by the FCA, how to protect yourself from unauthorised firms, and the latest on FCA warnings and investigations on the FCA.org website.

FCA Registered

We strongly advise you to only deal with financial services firms that are authorised by the FCA or registered, and check the Register to ensure they are.
The Register has information on firms and individuals that are, or have been, regulated by the FCA.
If a firm does not appear on the Register but claims it does, contact the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.
You can also check the details on the firm with Companies House and for Data Protection with the Information Commisioner's Office